Airplane landing floor



Fbb.18,l930,

G. HADDEN ET AL 1,747,582

AIRPLANE LANDING FLOOR k Filed Nov. '7. 1928 VENTORS Aida a;

4 W BY W 4,

4a ATTORNEYJ.

Fatented Feb. 18, 193

GAVIN HADDEN, OF NEW YORK, AND CH ABLIE-S A. I-IOLDEN, NEW ROCHELLE, NEW

YORK; SAID HOLDEN ASSIGNOR T SAID HADDEN AIRPLANE LANDING- FLOOR Application filed November 7, 1928. Serial. No. 317,793.

This invention relates to airplane landing floors.

The desideratum in providing a place for the landing of airplanes is to have a smooth horizontal surface of suficient area to provide a long run in every possible direction. It is only rarely that such a surface occurs in the natural condition of the ground; and, more especially in the vicinity of industrial centers where air ports are particularly needed, suitable natural landing fields are almost never available. It has, therefore, become necessary to construct landing floors at most air ports. Such floors consist of artificial horizontal or substantially horizontal layers having a smooth or substantially smooth upper surface. In some instances, it is necessary to support such floors upon pillars or columns, and it has been proposed to support them on floats in order to provide landing places in mid-ocean. In many instances, however, it is possible to support the floor directly. on the ground after first cutting or building up a level or substantially level area on which the artificial smooth layer or floor may be.

sup orted.

T e object of the present invention is to provide at the smallest possible expense a landing floor providing adequate and equal runs in all directions.

The expense of constructing a landing floor and suitable means for supporting it, whether in an elevated position or directly on the ground, is ordinarily a direct function of the area and the maximum dimension of the floor.

By the present invention, we provide a landingfioor having the least possible maximum dimension and the least possible area to provide runs of e ual length in all ossible directions. In so oing, we have eparted from the usual custom, in which the landing floor is shaped in such a manner that the center lines of the free runs in all directions intersect at or near the center of the landing floor and have provided for runs intersecting at numerous difierent points throughout the surface of the floor, so that nearly all parts of the surface are utilized as part of runs extendingin different directions. In this way,

we have effected a material saving in the area of the floor while maintaining the essential requirement of a long free run in every possible direction.

The nature of our invention ma best be understood from a detailed description of the specific embodiments thereof disclosed in the accompanying drawing, in which:

Fig. l is a plan view of a landing floor embodymg the invention;

Figs. 2 and 3 are sectional views of the floor and the means for supporting it, taken on the lines 2--2 and'33 of Fig. 1 respectively; and

Fig. 4 is a side view of a modified embodi: ment of the invention.

The floor-20 shown in the drawings-consists of an artificial horizontal or substantially horizontal layer of suitable material havmg a substantially smooth upper surface 21. The floor 20 may be made of concrete or may consist of an artificial layer of any material providing a substantially smooth surface upon which the Wheels of an airplane may run. In the form shown in Figs. 2 and 3, the floor 20 is supported partly on the surface of a cut 22 in the ground and partly on a fill 23 of earth. The cutting and filling of the ground provides a level or substantially level supporting surface 24 for the floor. In the form shown in Fig. 4, the floor '20 is supported on girders 22 extending between posts 23 which serve to elevate the floor above other structures in the neighborhood.

The edges 25, 26 and 27 of the floor are circular arcs of equal length and equal radius. The are 25 has its center, at the point 28 at which the arcuate edges 26 and 27 intersect. Similarly, the center about which the are 26 is described is at the point 29 at which the edges 25 and 27 intersect, and the center of the are 27 is the point 30 at which the edges 25' and 26 intersect. The surface of the floor provides for runs of equal length in all directions. Each run is equal to the radius of the three arcuate edges of the floor. These runs intersect at numerous difierent oints distributed over nearly the entire sur ace of the floor. v

The maximum dimension of the floor, in any direction whatsoever, is equal to the I length of run and the area of floor required is the least possible to provide equal runs in all directions with this maximumdimension.

In Fig. 1, runs in numerous difierent direc- 5 tions are indicated by dotted lines. The run marked 1 may be regarded as extending north and south, and the run marked 2 as extending north east and south 10 west. By following the consecutively num-' 10 bered dotted lines, it will be seen that successively numbered lines extend in directions separated by angles of 10. This is also true of the lines 18 and 1, which are to be regarded as successively numbered since there are eighteen lines in all. It will be understood, of course, that the dotted lines have been drawn at intervals of 10 merely for convenience of illustration, and that the surface of the field provides for a 20 run of the same length as the dotted lines at vevery possible angle between each of two I consecutively numbered dotted lines shown in Fig. 1.

It should be particularly noticed that the runs indicated in dotted lines intersect at numerous different spaced. points distributed over almost the entire surface of the floor. Of course, additional such points of intersection would become apparent by indicating the runs in directions between those of the con-.

secutively numbered dotted lines. It will. readily be understood that an economy in area is thus effected by utilizing substantially the entire surface of'the floor as'a part of runs extending in difi'erent directions.

What we claim is: I 1. An airplane landing floor having three arcuate edges of equal length and equal radius, the center of each arcuate edge being so at the point of intersection of the other two edges.

2. An airplane landing floor, comprising a horizontall supported artificial layer having a substantially smooth upper surface and having three arcuate edges of equal length and equal radius, each having its center at the pomt of intersection of the other two.

4 In testimony whereof we have hereunto set our hands.

so GAVIN HADDEN.

- CHARLES A. HOLDEN. 

